


Say a little Prayer

by felicityollies



Series: The Next Generation [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Children, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 14:04:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11510928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicityollies/pseuds/felicityollies
Summary: During their travels, Oliver discovers a lot about Felicity, including a bedtime tradition.





	Say a little Prayer

**Author's Note:**

> this was a prompt that i took way too long getting too. ugh @ me. but i honestly love writing Jewish Olicity so much, so i hope it came out well.

Oliver dried his hair off and tossed his towel onto the floor. He tugged up his boxers before sliding the bathroom door open and stepping into the bedroom of his and Felicity’s hotel room. The sound of Felicity speaking made him pause. She was using a language that he didn’t understand. It was quiet as she whispered, but only a moment later she spoke at full volume. The words didn’t make any sense to him, but they reminded him of the few times she’d gotten really angry and spit insults at him or whoever she was pissed at in a different language. He’d never asked what it was out of fear she would just yell at him more. She was scary when she was frustrated, okay.

This was different, though. She was soft and focused. It seemed like whatever she was saying was really important to her. He’d never spent the night with her before this and he wondered if this was something she did every night. It excited him to be able to learn more about her. That was one of the reasons he asked her to run away with him. He wanted to know every little thing about Felicity.

“Hey,” he said quietly once she had finished.

She looked up at him with a sweet smile, “Hi.”

“What was that?”

Her brows went up, “Oh, it was Shema.”  
“What?”

She giggled, “Shema,” she patted the bed next to her.

He sat down and got underneath the covers.

“It’s a prayer that I and many Jewish people say before bed,” she lit up as she spoke about her culture and religion. It made him want to ask a million more questions. “We say it for protection and as a reminder that Hashem is watching over us.”

He thought, considering their lifestyle, it was probably a good idea to ask for protection. Especially if it made her feel better.

As if she read his mind, she said, “I’ve been saying the prayer since I was a little girl, but I like to think that we… and our team could use all the protection we can get,” she reached over and squeezed his hand.

“I agree,” he brought her hand to his lips and gave a gentle kiss.

He hadn’t been to a church since he was young and with everything he’d been through it was hard to believe in a God. Still, there were good things in his life, like Felicity, that made him believe the hand of fate stepped in. He was led to her for a reason. The way she believed in her religion so fully, let it guide her, and comfort her made him want to know more.

“Will you teach me?” he asked.

She blinked a couple of times, “It’s in Hebrew.”

“I know Russian and Chinese, I think i can handle Hebrew.”

She scoffed at him, “You know nothing, Oliver Queen.”

He stared at her.

“We’re going to work on your lack of knowledge regarding Game of Thrones too.”

“Does that mean you’ll teach me?”

“Yes, but when you get frustrated I get to tell you ‘I told you so’ and you can’t complain.”

“You have never missed an opportunity to tell me that,” he laughed.

“True,” she returned his laugh with one of her own.

* * *

Felicity wouldn’t start teaching him until the next day. He drove them towards their next destination while she taught him the first line of Shema.

“When you say the first part,” she explained, “You cover your eyes with your right hand.”

He lifted his right hand and she smacked him, “Not right now, you’re driving,” she shook her head, “Jerk.”

Oliver chuckled.

 _"Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad,”_ she said the words slowly.

He sucked in a deep breath and tried to repeat what she said, which resulted in a horrible butchering of the words. With a sigh, he tried again.

“Why don’t we try one word at a time,” she offered, “And I’ll give you the translations.”

“Okay,” he muttered.

They worked on it for awhile before he finally seemed to begin to understand it. But that was only one line out of apparently a lot.

“Are you sure you still want to do this?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation, “I want to learn this. I want to learn everything about you and your traditions,” he took his eyes off the road to meet her gaze even just for a split second, “I love you and what’s important to you is important to me.”

“Oh, Oliver,” she smiled and wrapped her arm around his, nuzzling her face into him, “I love you so much.”

It took the rest of the summer and some help from Donna before he finally understood Shema and could speak it past memorization. He felt a little silly when they stopped in Vegas and he had to use Felicity’s old Hebrew school books, but they really did help. Donna enjoyed being able to talk to him about Jewish traditions and it kept a lot of the heat off of Felicity. Thought, there were some, subtle as a shotgun, hints dropped around. Like a few bridal magazines that randomly appeared on Felicity’s bedside table.

The first night in their home in Ivy Town, Oliver was able to say Shema with Felicity before bed. It felt so good to have accomplished something as difficult as learning a Hebrew prayer. Even more so because Felicity was so proud of him. He was excited to learn more Hebrew and more about her Jewish heritage.

* * *

“Liora,” Oliver called.

“Coming, daddy,” the little five year old with a lisp yelled back. She was missing her front teeth.

“Have you been practicing?” he asked as they settled into her room.

“Yes! Mommy said I am doing great!” she squealed excitedly.

Liora was attending Hebrew school and devouring it the same way Felicity had when she was young. She had also been learning a lot of Hebrew before school started because of both him and Felicity. Oliver was so proud of her. It was a difficult thing to learn, he should know, having spent a good chunk of time learning the language and everything he could about the religion. He had converted to Judaism shortly after he and Felicity had gotten engaged… the second time.

“Ready?” he asked, covering his eyes with his right hand.

She nodded and did the same, _"Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad,”_ she said, though she fumbled over a couple of words.

He heard Felicity come up behind them in her chair as they continued. They uncovered their eyes and whispered, _"Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto Leolam Vaed.”_

Liora kept going at a normal volume, determined and with strength behind her words, though she still slipped up a few times during the entirety of the prayer. He was still proud of her nonetheless. She was trying and doing her best considering the state of her teeth.

When they finished, Felicity wheeled in. “That was very good,” she scooped up the five year old and covered her in kisses.

“Ima!” she whined.

Oliver snorted.

“Daddy!”

“I guess I better save you,” he carefully snatched her from Felicity’s grasp, but quickly covered her in kisses as well.

“Ew!”

“You’re so full of it,” Felicity laughed.

Oliver dropped Liora onto her bed and quickly tucked her in, “Yeah, we know you like our kisses.”

“Maybe,” she giggled.

They both kissed her cheeks.

“Good night,” he said.

“Good night, Daddy. Good night, Mama.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! Comments and messages are always appreciated!
> 
> tumblr & twitter: felicityollies


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